NAPERVILLE — As winter schedules begin to thin and championship lineups come into focus, the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women’s swimming and diving season is being defined by veteran consistency, depth across events, and late-season breakthroughs. 
 
Last weekend offered a snapshot of where the conference stands, with Senior Day performances, distance control and stroke-specific excellence highlighting programs positioning themselves for the postseason push.
 
Senior Surge: Wheaton Sweeps Weekly Honors at Thunder Invite
Wheaton authored one of the most complete performances of the season at its home Thunder Invitational, capturing first place with 472 points over two days of competition. The meet also served as Senior Day, and the Thunder’s veteran class rose to the moment, highlighted by a sweep of the CCIW Student-Athlete of the Week honors by seniors Olivia Wiebe (swimming) and Isabelle Fitzpatrick (diving).
 
Wiebe anchored Wheaton’s success with a dominant showing in the distance and freestyle events. On Friday, she posted a personal-best 10:48.94 in the 1,000-yard freestyle, a time that currently leads the CCIW by more than 11 seconds and stands as one of the most commanding margins in any conference event this season. She returned on Saturday to win the 200-yard freestyle in a lifetime-best 1:58.45 and added a victory in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:00.60, the third-fastest time in the league.
 
On the boards, Fitzpatrick delivered her strongest performance of the season, completing 11 dives on the 1-meter board and scoring a personal-best 253.80. That total ranks fourth in the CCIW and provided a significant boost to Wheaton’s team score. Collectively, the Thunder finished ahead of Augustana (437 points) and North Central (128 points).
 
Distance Dominance: Wiebe and Skalski Command the Lanes
While Wiebe continues to set the conference standard in the 1,000-yard freestyle, Carthage’s Brie Skalski ensured that distance racing remained a focal point across the league. Competing for Carthage in a Friday dual meet at Lawrence, Skalski swept both distance events, winning the 1,000-yard freestyle in 11:17.12 before returning to claim the 500-yard freestyle in 5:32.25.
 
Skalski’s performances anchored a commanding 163-37 Firebirds victory.
 
The statistical leaderboard remains heavily influenced by Wheaton’s Tess Boyer, who continues to rank among the most versatile swimmers in the CCIW. Boyer currently owns the top conference times in the 500-yard freestyle (5:01.52), 100-yard butterfly (57.53), 200-yard IM (2:03.72) and 400-yard IM (4:23.23).
 
Sprint Showdown: Mihm and Swanson Battle for the Wall
Sprint events also saw notable movement during the weekend, particularly at the Thunder Invitational. Augustana’s Kendle Mihm captured the 100-yard freestyle in 53.79, a result that now places her third on the conference list. She sits just behind Wheaton’s Boyer (53.39) and teammate Aubrey Swanson (53.60) in a tightly packed race that continues to shuffle with each meet.
 
Swanson remains the CCIW’s fastest swimmer in the 50-yard freestyle, holding a season-best 24.28. Boyer, however, continues to close the gap, recently clocking a 24.62.
 
Illinois Wesleyan also showcased sprint and middle-distance strength during last Saturday’s meet at Wabash. Despite facing Division I Valparaiso, senior Natalie Porter delivered two individual wins, taking the 200-yard freestyle in 2:02.51 and the 500-yard freestyle in 5:23.46. Freshman Abby Schnittker complemented Porter’s efforts with a career-best 2:03.35 in the 200-yard freestyle and a runner-up finish in the 100-yard freestyle (55.42).
 
Breaststroke and Butterfly: Carthage and Millikin Find Top Form
Stroke specialists continued to sharpen their form as the regular season winds down. Carthage’s Jill Kane reinforced her standing as the conference’s premier breaststroker by winning the 100-yard event against Lawrence in 1:11.57. Kane still holds the CCIW’s fastest time in the event at 1:08.26, set earlier in December.
 
In the butterfly, Firebirds teammate Lois Klinger added another victory with a first-place finish in the 100-yard fly (1:03.85).
 
Millikin endured an 86-48 road loss to Monmouth last Friday, but the Big Blue still produced several strong individual performances. Freshman Audrey Korniak led the team with a win in the 100-yard butterfly (1:02.84) and a second-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle (2:08.52). Sophomore Brenna Pacheco added a victory in the 100-yard freestyle, touching in 59.77.
 
North Central also saw positive development at the Thunder Invitational, with multiple swimmers recording personal or season-best times. Celina McDaniel posted season bests in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard butterfly, while Sydney Sprayberry shaved four seconds off her previous best in the 500-yard freestyle.
 
The Road to Pleasant Prairie: Upcoming Clashes and Championship Outlook
The final regular-season weekend arrives with several meets this Saturday. Augustana will host Wheaton for its Senior Day in a rematch of the high-scoring Thunder Invitational, while Illinois Wesleyan returns home to honor its seniors against Monmouth. 
 
Millikin travels to Illinois College, and Carthage, along with Carroll, turns its attention to the Wisconsin Private College Championships in Kenosha.
 
Those meets serve as the last major tune-ups before the postseason begins. The CCIW Diving Championships are set for Feb. 13-14 at Carthage, followed by the CCIW Swimming Championships from Feb. 18-21 at the Pleasant Prairie RecPlex.